Civil Society organisations have expressed concern over the involvement of state security organisations including the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) on the committee which will be responsible for enforcing the Computer Crime and Cybercrime Bill.
Media Institute of Southern Africa Zimbabwe (Misa) legal expert Kudakwashe Hove said that the composition of the Cyber Security Committee was not balanced.
The proposed legislation gives investigating authorities the right to seize electronic gadgets including computer devices and mobile phones during investigations. Hove said:
Misa is lobbying for the inclusion of non-security players, professionals, because the internet cannot be regulated by the security sector only, so there is a need to involve other players as well.
Information Systems Audit and Control Association president, Douglas Mapuranga, said that security personnel are not trusted worldwide hence the need to balance the composition of the committee. This for him guarantees both national security and citizens’ privacy.
Internet service provider Dandemutande engineer, Kevin Ngolande, echoed sentiments above calling for a 30% to 50% representation of engineers, and programmers. He added that traditional mechanisms of security were no longer up for the task of protecting the nation in the cyber space.
The government has been accused of spying on its citizens. On the other hand, the government has been arguing that the country needs to be protected from visible and possible attacks. In 2017, the Parliament of Zimbabwe was hacked, fortunately, and unfortunately, most of Zimbabwe’s websites have little to no information worth taking.
More: The Independent
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